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IN

of the students had been prescribed a
potentially addictive benzodiazepine
for treating anxiety or sleep problems
at some time in their lives. Just over

3 percent of students had a currentprescription during the study, andthose students were 10times more likely thanstudents who never had aprescription to obtain anti-anxiety or sleep medicationsfor nonmedical reasons,such as experimentingor getting high. Studentswho were prescribed anti-anxiety medications beforethe three-year study but nolonger had a prescriptionwere 12 times more likelyto use someone else’s anti-anxiety medication thanstudents who had neverreceived a prescription.Researchers also found thatwhite students were twiceas likely as black students touse the medications withouta prescription (Psychology ofAddictive Behaviors, onlineNov. 24).

n Threatening to punishkids for lying doesn’t work,according to a study with

372 children ages 4 to 8.

Before leaving each childalone in a room for oneminute, McGill Universityresearchers told the childrenthat there was a toy on atable behind them but theyshould not look at it duringtheir absence. When theresearchers returned, they asked thechild whether he or she had peeked atthe toy. Footage from a hidden camerashowed that nearly 68 percent of thechildren had peeked, and about 67percent of the peekers lied about it.

As their age increased, they were both
more likely to tell lies and more adept at
maintaining their lies. The researchers
also found that children were more
likely to lie if they were afraid of being
punished (Journal of Experimental Child
Psychology, February).

n Entitlement, in small doses, may
boost creativity, according to Vanderbilt
University researchers. The scientists
stimulated entitlement in half of the
study participants through a short
exercise in which the participants were
encouraged to write sentences about
why they deserved various positive
outcomes. Participants then took part
in creativity tasks, including imagining
different uses for a paper clip, drawing
a space alien and participating in a
word association exercise. Findings
showed that participants who were
given a boost in feelings of entitlement
outdid the non-entitled on every test
and by significant margins (Journal of
Experimental Social Psychology, January).

n Text messages can prevent patientsfrom forgetting to take their prescribedmedicines, according to research with303 patients led by scientists at QueenMary University of London. Researchersrandomly divided participants, allof whom had been prescribed bloodpressure and/or cholesterol loweringmedication, into a “text-message” groupand a “no-text” group. The text-messagegroup received texts every day for twoweeks, alternate days for two weeks andthen weekly for six months, asking ifthey had taken their medication thatday. Patients who had not, or did notreply, were called and offered help.Children were more likely to fib when they thoughtthey would be punished, a study found.jarenwicklund/iStock